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A suspect has been charged after a gunman opened fire from a boat into a waterfront restaurant in North Carolina, killing three people and wounding at least five others on Saturday night.
Nigel Max Edge, 40, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection with the shooting at the American Fish Company restaurant in Southport, North Carolina, the city’s public information officer, ChyAnn Ketchum, confirmed to Fox News on Sunday morning.
Southport Police Chief Todd Coring told reporters at a press conference later Sunday morning that the suspect acted alone in a “highly premeditated” fashion.
“We believe that this was a targeted location,” Coring said, adding that the suspect is in custody and there is believed to be no further threat to the community.
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Southport’s public information officer previously said a boat with a single occupant on the Cape Fear River paused briefly in front of the restaurant at around 9:30 p.m. and opened fire, killing three patrons and injuring multiple others.
The boat then sped off in the direction of the Intracoastal Waterway towards neighboring Oak Island.
The U.S. Coast Guard observed a single individual matching the description of the shooter loading their boat at a public ramp in Oak Island shortly after 10 p.m. The Coast Guard crew detained the person, who was turned over to Southport police for questioning, officials said.
Coring said that the suspect identified himself as a combat veteran who was injured in the line of duty and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fox News Digital could not immediately confirm those claims.
Officials said Edge changed his name several years ago and is a resident of Oak Island. He is well-known to local law enforcement, according to officials, though he had no significant criminal history.
Oak Island Police Chief Charlie Morris said the department’s employees were “familiar” with the suspect, who often hung out at the pier near the police department. Morris said that the suspect has also filed “numerous” lawsuits against the police department and the town in recent years, though he did not elaborate on the specifics of the lawsuits.
Authorities did not immediately release the names of those killed.
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District Attorney Jon David said that at least one wounded victim is “clinging to life” in the hospital. No further information about the conditions of the other wounded victims was immediately provided.
“Sadly, a lot of the victims in this case appear to be not members of our community, but people who are here on vacation,” David said.
Edge was also facing multiple counts of weapons charges, though officials said additional charges were pending.
Fox News’ Brian Powers and Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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